Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
127
Investment in carnivory in Utricularia stygia and U. intermedia
with dimorphic shoots
Investice do masožravosti u Utricularia stygia a U. intermedia s dvojtvarými prýty
Lubomír A d a m e c
Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Section of Plant
Ecology, Dukelská 135, CZ-379 82 Třeboň, Czech Republic, e-mail: [email protected]
Adamec L. (2007): Investment in carnivory in Utricularia stygia and U. intermedia with dimorphic
shoots. – Preslia 79: 127–139.
Utricularia stygia Thor and U. intermedia Hayne are aquatic carnivorous plants with distinctly dimorphic shoots. Investment in carnivory and the morphometric characteristics of both types of
shoots of these plants were determined in dense stands growing in shallow dystrophic waters in the
Třeboň basin, Czech Republic, and their possible ecological regulation and interspecific differences
considered. Vertical profiles of chemical and physical microhabitat factors were measured in these
stands in order to differentiate key microhabitat factors associated with photosynthetic and carnivorous shoots. Total dry biomass of both species in dense stands ranged between 2.4–97.0 g·m–2. The
percentage of carnivorous shoots in the total biomass, which was used as a measure of the investment in carnivory, ranged from 40–59% and that of traps from 18–29% in both species. The high
percentage of total biomass made up of carnivorous shoots in both species indicates both a high
structural investment in carnivory and high maintenance costs. As the mean length of the main carnivorous shoots and trap number per plant in carnivorous shoots in both species differed highly significantly between sites, it is probable that the investment in carnivory is determined by ecological
factors with low water level one of the potentially most important. Marked differences were found
only in [O2] between the 1–3 cm deep free-water zone with green photosynthetic shoots of both species and the 10 cm deep loose sediment with chlorophyll-free carnivorous shoots with traps (range
–1
1.7–7.2 vs. 0.0–0.8 mg·l ). The waters can be characterized as mesotrophic. Though anoxia occurred consistently at a depth of 10 cm in loose sediment at all U. stygia and U. intermedia sites the
carnivorous shoots of both species growing in this microhabitat are able to survive and do not avoid
this microhabitat.
K e y w o r d s : aquatic carnivorous plants, carnivorous and photosynthetic shoots, investment in
carnivory, Lentibulariaceae, water chemistry
Introduction
In terms of the photosynthetic cost-benefit relationship, Givnish et al. (1984) postulated that
carnivory for terrestrial carnivorous plants is only beneficial in nutrient-poor, moist and sunny
habitats. It is evident that this is not the case for many aquatic carnivorous plant species in typical habitats, which are short of light (only 2–20% of incident PAR) and sometimes also free
CO2 (below 0.05 mmol.l–1) though [CO2] is commonly high, > 0.1 mmol·l–1 (e.g. Hough &
Fornwall 1988, Adamec 1995b, 1997, Adamec & Lev 2002). In aquatic Utricularia species,
the structural and maintenance costs of traps are considerable (Friday 1992, Knight 1992,
Adamec 1995a, 2006, Porembski et al. 2006) and plants are able to change the proportion of
resources invested in traps depending on habitat factors: water chemistry, prey availability and
level of irradiance (Knight & Frost 1991, Knight 1992, Guisande et al. 2000, 2004, Richards
2001, Englund & Harms 2003, Manjarrés-Hernández et al. 2006). In three aquatic Utricularia
128
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
species with homogeneous shoots (U. australis, U. gibba, U. reflexa ) and the epiphytic
U. quelchii with carnivorous stolons, which occur in aquatic tanks of bromeliads, Porembski et
al. (2006) record that the percentage of the biomass of traps to the total plant biomass ranges
from 11–20% and 30%, respectively. This percentage is only 0.14–0.85% in six terrestrial
Utricularia species. Thus, an aquatic habit predetermines a relatively great investment in
carnivory in Utricularia, which may be associated with a greater availability of prey or likelihood of capturing prey in aquatic environments.
Utricularia stygia Thor, U. ochroleuca R. Hartm. and U. intermedia Hayne (Lentibulariaceae) are rootless, aquatic to amphibious carnivorous plants with distinctly dimorphic shoots (Thor 1988, Taylor 1989). These species are intermediate in body plan between the aquatic Utricularia species with non-differentiated, homogeneous green shoots
with traps (e.g. U. vulgaris) and terrestrial species (e.g. U. uliginosa) with above-ground
green leaves and below-ground, chlorophyll-free carnivorous shoots bearing traps. Their
green, more or less horizontal, photosynthetic shoots bear at most only a few traps, while
their usually colourless, carnivorous shoots with strongly reduced leaves bear numerous
traps and are immersed deeply in a loose organic substrate. In these aquatic Utricularia
species with dimorphic shoots, either their investment in carnivory or the water chemistry
in the zones with different types of shoots, have not been studied.
Utricularia stygia, U. ochroleuca and U. intermedia grow in very similar habitats in
shallow, standing, dystrophic (humic), acidic waters, in fen lakes, bogs and peaty
fishponds. However, they very rarely grow together in the same wetland (Adamec & Lev
2002, Płachno & Adamec 2007). Generally, the species show a rather wide ecological tolerance of many water chemistry factors (Melzer 1976, Pietsch 1977, Dierssen & Dierssen
1984, Schäfer-Guignier 1994, Harms 1999, Hofmann 2001) and their ecological limits are
similar (Kosiba & Sarosiek 1989, Kosiba 1993, 2004, Adamec & Lev 2002). Based on the
concentrations of mineral N and P, these waters can usually be characterized as oligomesotrophic. However, growth of both species may be limited not only by low N and P, but
also very low K+ concentration (Melzer 1976, Kosiba & Sarosiek 1989, Kosiba 1993,
2004). At five to 11 sites for the species in the Třeboň basin, S Bohemia, Czech Republic,
Adamec & Lev (2002) revealed a statistically significant difference between the species
only in [K+], with much lower values for U. intermedia. However, no field study on these
species has shown a difference in microhabitat conditions occurring in the very shallow,
free-water zone near the water surface, in which photosynthetic shoots grow, or in the
loose, slowly decomposable, organic sediment, consisting of peaty or cyperoid litter, in
which the carnivorous shoots with traps grow. Ecological characteristics of the
microhabitat in the substrate with carnivorous shoots could indicate the conditions for
prey capture, because the aquatic Utricularia species with homogeneous shoots capture
their prey only in the free-water zone (Harms 1999).
The following questions were addressed in this study: (1) Does the investment in
carnivory, measured as the percentage of carnivorous shoots and traps to the total biomass,
as well as biometric parameters in U. stygia and U. intermedia, differ between different
sites? (2) Are there interspecific differences in these parameters? (3) Are there differences
in the physical and chemical factors in the vertical profile of free water, where
photosynthetic shoots grow, and the loose organic substrate, in which carnivorous shoots
with traps grow? The study was performed in stands of both species at very favourable
sites in the Třeboň basin, Czech Republic.
Adamec: Investment in carnivory in Utricularia
129
Species studied
Morphologically, U. stygia, U. ochroleuca, and U. intermedia are very similar. As shown
by Adamec & Lev (2002) the carnivorous shoots of these species can be as long as 14–18
cm and reach depth of 13–15 cm in loose anoxic substrates. Like all native European
Utricularia species they overwinter as turions (i.e. winter buds). While U. intermedia is
a fertile species setting seeds, U. stygia and U. ochroleuca are sterile, considered to be of
hybrid origin, and their populations polymorphic (Thor 1988, Taylor 1989). On the basis
of fine floral, foliar and quadrifid gland differences, Thor (1988) differentiated a separate
species from U. ochroleuca s.l., which he named U. stygia Thor. As shown over the last
decade this taxon, though reluctantly accepted by botanists, is more common in Europe
than U. ochroleuca s. str. (Hofmann 2001, Schlosser 2003, Płachno & Adamec 2007). In
this paper, the name U. ochroleuca will be used only for U. ochroleuca s. str. Taxonomically, within the genus Utricularia, the three species belong to the most abundant section
Utricularia, which comprises 34 aquatic or amphibious species with both homogeneous
and dimorphic shoots (Taylor 1989).
Study sites
In the Czech Republic, U. ochroleuca and U. intermedia are considered to be critically endangered but U. stygia is not officially mentioned (Holub & Procházka 2000). The Třeboň
basin in S Bohemia is the centre of their recent distribution in the Czech Republic (Płachno
& Adamec 2007). Here, 11 sites for U. ochroleuca or U. stygia and six for U. intermedia
were verified within the period 2003–2005 (L. Adamec, unpublished data). As few as 20
shoots, to as many as one million occur at each site.
The field work and collection of plant material were carried out during the peak summer season, 10–15 July 2001. Water chemistry was investigated at four U. stygia sites and
three U. intermedia sites in the Třeboň Basin Biosphere Reserve and Protected Landscape
Area, S Bohemia, Czech Republic (approx. 49o N, 14o 45‘ E). In 2003–2005 that the taxon
U. stygia occurred at all investigated sites was checked microscopically (Płachno &
Adamec 2007). The sites were all peat bogs situated in the littorals of eutrophic fishponds
(Table 1). For both species, there are large and very dense stands at all the sites selected.
Thus, ecological optimum for both species may be assumed at these sites. Two typical,
very dense stands of U. stygia or U. intermedia were selected at each site for measuring the
physical and chemical factors, sampling water and collection of plant material for estimating stand biomass. The two stands selected were only 5–15 m apart, but could be inhabited
by different dominant or subdominant vegetation (Table 1). In these stands, the depth of
where the photosynthetic shoots occurred was usually only 1–3 cm, above 5–30 cm of organic, loose waterlogged sediment. Due to drought in some stands (Hliníř and Nový
vdovec fishponds), there was no water above the sediment, and the photosynthetic shoots
were terrestrial.
130
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
Table 1. – Characteristics of microsites in the Třeboň basin, Czech Republic, where Utricularia stygia (US) or
U. intermedia (UI) were sampled and studied. These study sites were located at fishponds: SV – Švarcenberk;
HL – Hliníř; VI – Vizír; RO – Rod; NV – Nový vdovec; PR – Příbrazský; SJ – Staré jezero.
Site
Free-water
depth (cm)
Litter depth
(cm)
Plant dominants
(cover > 40% of total)
SV1
4–8
18–19
Carex rostrata
SV2
4–10
18–20
Carex rostrata
HL1
HL2
0
0
5
4–5
VI1
VI2
1–3
1–3
12–15
9–11
Juncus bulbosus, US
–
RO
NV1
1–2
0–0.5
20–25
32
Carex rostrata
Phragmites australis
NV2
PR1
0
18–20
30
2
Phragmites australis
UI
PR2
15–20
4–18
UI
SJ1
1–2
28–29
–
SJ2
1–2
30
–
Eriophorum angustifolium
Eriophorum angustifolium
Plant subdominants
(cover 10–40% of total)
Eriophorum angustifolium, Calamagrostis
canescens, US
Eriophorum angustifolium, US, Utricularia
australis
US
Carex panicea, C. rostrata, Juncus
bulbosus, US
Eriophorum angustifolium
Eriophorum angustifolium, US, Juncus
bulbosus, Sphagnum sp.
Carex acuta, US, Sphagnum sp.
UI, Carex acuta, C. canescens, Sphagnum
sp.
Carex canescens, C. acuta, UI
Eriophorum angifolium, Phragmites australis, Carex acuta
Eriophorum angustifolium, Carex
lasiocarpa
Sphagnum sp., Phragmites australis, Carex
lasiocarpa, C. acuta, UI, Eriophorum
angustifolium
Phragmites australis, Carex acuta, Sphagnum
sp., C. lasiocarpa, UI, Eriophorum ang.,
C. rostrata, Comarum palustre, Salix aurita
Methods
Investment in carnivory
In both of the dense stands of U. stygia and U. intermedia at each site (except Rod peat
bog), the U. stygia and U. intermedia plants in the quadrats of 0.2 × 0.2 m or 0.5 × 0.5 m
were separated from the surrounding plants by cutting with a knife and harvested. After
thoroughly cleaning the plant material from the sediment, it was separated into green,
photosynthetic shoots and usually colourless, carnivorous shoots with traps, dried (80 oC)
and weighed to determine the dry weight (DW). From a dense stand close to one of the
harvested stands at each site, 12 adult intact non-flowering plants of U. stygia or
U. intermedia were randomly selected and carefully collected. A greater number of plants
was not collected because both species are rare. Great attention was paid to collecting all
of the carnivorous shoots and traps. In the laboratory, the following biometric data were
estimated in each of all 12 plants: the length of main photosynthetic shoot, the number of
isolated photosynthetic and carnivorous shoots (criteria for carnivorous shoots: minimum
length 5 mm or presence of at least one trap), the length of main carnivorous shoots (crite-
Adamec: Investment in carnivory in Utricularia
131
ria: primary or secondary branches bearing at least three shoot apices), the number of
internodes between two successive branches on each type of shoot, and the total number of
traps on each type of shoot per plant. The differentiation of shoots into photosynthetic and
carnivorous in both species was based on the number of traps, colour of shoots and shape
of leaves (fork-shaped and flattened vs. reduced and filamentous). The length of shoots
was measured to the nearest 1 mm using a ruler. Within each stand, the largest trap size
was measured to the nearest 0.5 mm using a ruler. Of the 12 intact plants, 5 were randomly
selected, all traps on both shoot types were cut-off, pooled, and weighed to determine the
DW (80 oC), which was used as a measure of the plants’ investment in carnivory. Both
photosynthetic and carnivorous shoots without traps were also weighed and their DW determined.
Chemical analyses
In both stands at each site, between 9:00 and 15:00 local summer time, the dissolved O2
concentration, pH, conductivity, and water temperature was measured at a depth of 1–2 cm
in the water surrounding the photosynthetic shoots of both species and at a depth of ca
10 cm in the sediment at the same place. Filtered water samples (44 μm mesh size) were
used to estimate total alkalinity (TA), total nitrogen (Nt) and phosphorus (Pt), and the sum
of humic acid and tannin concentration was measured in the water and sediment collected
using a syringe. Other water samples for NO3–, NH4+, PO4, K, Ca, and Mg analyses were
filtered through a 0.7 μm filter. Electrical redox potential (Ered) was measured using a Pt
electrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode placed at a depth of 10 cm in the sediment,
and recorded as the mean of six values taken at the same place. An estimate of the level of
shading of the water surface by emergent vegetation was obtained in Utricularia stands by
using a submersible pyranometric sensor, which measured photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 400–700 nm; Adamec 1997, 1999). The sensor was positioned about 1 cm below the water surface. Ten measurements were made in various parts of each stand in order
to compensate for the great variation within a stand. Readings are expressed as percentage
of incident PAR penetrating to a depth of 1 cm (photosynthetic shoot level). All the analytical details are described by Adamec (1999, 2000) and Adamec & Lev (1999). Potassium
persulphate mineralization of water samples was used for the Nt and Pt estimates (Adamec
2000). CO2 concentration was calculated from total alkalinity and pH (Helder 1988). As
the sensitivity of the oxygen sensor used was cca. 0.05 mg·l–1 lower oxygen concentrations
could not be distinguished from zero.
Statistical analysis
Mean values for the chemistry of the water and sediment at the two stands at each site are
entered in the results. Due to the very low number of U. stygia (4) and U. intermedia (3)
sites, absence of data for some sites, non-random selection of the sites and stands, and
a great similarity of the habitats (Adamec & Lev 2002), statistical significance of the difference in habitat factors of both species was not tested. Instead, the means of all sites for
both species for either water or sediment were pooled and the difference between water
and sediment tested using a two-tailed t-test for independent samples. No transformation
of pH values was used. Mean biometric data for each of 12 plants at each site were tested
by two-way ANOVA (nested design) for significant differences between the species.
132
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
Results
Total dry biomass of U. intermedia in dense stands ranged from 14.7 to 97.2 g·m–2 and
from 2.4 to 35.9 g·m–2 of U. stygia (Table 2). The percentage of carnivorous shoots in the
total biomass was about 51% in U. intermedia and 46% in U. stygia. For five adult plants,
the percentage was about 51% in U. intermedia and 49% in U. stygia. Trap biomass made
up about 55% and 49% of the carnivorous shoots in U. intermedia and U. stygia, respectively, and about 28% and 24% of the total plant biomass in U. intermedia and U. stygia,
respectively (Table 2).
The mean length of the main photosynthetic shoot was about 19 cm in both species (Table 3). The mean number of photosynthetic shoots in U. stygia (2.5) was not statistically
significantly fewer than in U. intermedia (3.2), and the reverse was the case for carnivorous shoots. For each species, between-site differences in the mean length of the main carnivorous shoots were highly significant (one-way ANOVA; P = 0.0003), but means for
both species were exactly the same (11 cm). The longest carnivorous shoots reached
10–19 cm in U. stygia and 12–14 cm in U. intermedia (Table 3). Both species differed significantly in the number of internodes between successive branches of photosynthetic as
well as carnivorous shoots. In U. stygia, the relatively greater frequency of branching in
the photosynthetic shoots was associated with fewer branches on carnivorous shoots. The
reverse was the case in U. intermedia. Generally, however, the frequency of branching was
about 1.8–2.8 times greater for carnivorous than photosynthetic shoots in both species. No
significant difference (P = 0.068) was found in number of traps on photosynthetic shoot
per plant between species (Table 3). Although the mean number of traps on carnivorous
shoots differed highly significantly between sites within each species (one-way ANOVA;
P = 0.0001), the means for both species were similar. The proportion of biomass made up
of traps is statistically significantly correlated with the number of traps per plant in both
species (n = 7, r = 0.79, P = 0.05), but not the for carnivorous shoots alone (n = 7, r = 0.55,
P > 0.05).
Of all the water chemistry factors investigated, the only significant difference was in
[O2] in free water and the loose sediment (Table 4). [O2] content of the free water was high
and ranged between 1.7–7.2 mg·l–1, while in the 10 cm deep sediment it was close to zero
(0.0–0.8 mg·l–1). Values of some factors (TA, [CO2], NH4+-N, PO4-P, humic acids + tannins) were considerably higher in the sediment than in the water, but due to the variation
the differences were not statistically significant. Mean values of incident irradiance at the
level of the photosynthetic shoots at the sites ranged between 17–31%.
Discussion
Investment in carnivory and shoot differentiation
Even in very dense stands of U. stygia and U. intermedia the total dry biomass (2.4–97.2
g·m–2, means of from 20–30 g·m–2; Table 2) was one to two orders of magnitude lower than
that of dense stands of other submerged or emergent plants (Pokorný & Ondok 1991).
Thus, the biomass of U. stygia and U. intermedia always contains very low amounts of nutrients. Both methods of estimating the percentage of the total plant biomass made up of
carnivorous shoots gave similar results, between 40–59% in both species (Table 2). How-
133
Adamec: Investment in carnivory in Utricularia
Table 2. – Total biomass (DW) of Utricularia intermedia and U. stygia in dense stands at three sites of each species in the Třeboň basin and percentage of total biomass allocated to carnivorous shoots. Biomass allocated to carnivorous shoots with traps, the traps as percentage of the total biomass and of carnivorous shoots based on
measurement of five plants. Where possible two parallel values at each site were pooled together; n – number of
samples.
Species
Parameter
U. intermedia Mean (n)
Range
U. stygia
Mean (n)
Range
DW
(g·m–2)
DW allocation
to carnivorous
shoots
(%)
40.2 (6)
14.7–97.2
17.1 (6)
2.4–35.9
50.6 (6)
39.8–59.0
45.7 (6)
41.9–51.5
Percentage of biomass of 5 plants to
carnivorous
shoots
(%)
traps
(% of total
biomass)
traps
(% of carnivorous shoots)
50.8 (4)
45.3–57.8
48.5 (3)
39.7–54.0
27.5 (4)
25.8–28.9
23.8 (3)
18.0–27.5
54.8 (4)
44.9–63.4
48.9 (3)
45.3–53.2
Table 3. – Biometric data on Utricularia stygia and U. intermedia plants collected from dense stands. For the site
names see Table 1. PS – photosynthetic shoots; CA – carnivorous shoots. Means per plant, 1SE intervals and
range of values are shown for each site. P – probability of agreement between sites. For each species, total mean
includes all three sites (n = 34–36). Statistically significant differences between the species (F and P parameters)
were evaluated using two-way ANOVA, nested design.
Site
Parameter Main PS No. of isolated shoots Length of No. of internodes No. of traps in shoots
shoot
per plant
main CA
between two
per plant
length
shoots successive branches
(cm)
PS
CA
(cm)
PS
CA
PS
CA
2.75±0.39
1–5
2.33±0.14
2–3
2.50±0.23
1–4
2.53±0.16
4.08±0.43
2–7
4.08±0.36
2–7
3.33±0.41
1–6
3.83±0.23
13.8±0.8
8.7–19.4
7.9±0.3
6.6–9.8
10.6±0.6
8.1–13.3
10.8±0.5
11.3±0.7
6.0–15.0
13.0±0.4
11.0–14.3
12.4±0.6
9.0–15.0
12.2±0.4
6.2±0.2
5.0–6.8
7.1±0.6
5.5–11.0
6.8±0.3
5.2–8.0
6.7±0.2
3.08±0.31
2–5
3.83±0.37
2–6
2.67±0.19
2–4
3.19±0.19
3.39
0.14
3.75±0.33
2–6
4.08±0.31
3–6
2.67±0.22
2–4
3.50±0.19
0.45
0.54
9.9±0.4
7.4–11.5
12.5±0.4
9.3–13.8
10.6±0.3
8.4–12.4
11.0±0.3
0.015
0.91
17.4±0.9
12.7–23.0
16.6±0.6
14.5–22.0
16.3±0.7
11.0–20.0
16.8±0.4
51.4
0.0020
5.8±0.2 0.25±0.25 102±12
4.5–6.8
0–3
40–171
5.9±0.1 0.58±0.42 163±17
5.0–6.5
0–5
70–254
6.1±0.2
0
78.3±5.2
5.2–7.8
–
49–101
5.9±0.1 0.28±0.16 114±9
7.75
6.19
0.35
0.050
0.068
0.59
Utricularia stygia
SV
Mean ± SE 22.6±2.8
Range
8.4–37.1
HL
Mean ± SE 16.9±1.2
Range
12.0–24.3
VI
Mean ± SE 18.5±2.6
Range
8.2–38.4
Total mean ± SE
19.3±1.4
8.3±1.3 151±24
1–16
75–284
2.5±0.6 35.7±4.2
0–7
19–74
3.5±1.4 81.3±8.3
0–15
48–133
4.8±0.8 89.5±11.6
Utricularia intermedia
NV
Mean ± SE 20.8±1.9
Range
11.7–30.0
PR
Mean ± SE 20.0±1.0
Range
13.8–25.9
SJ
Mean ± SE 15.8±1.6
Range
8.8–26.5
Total mean ± SE
18.8±0.9
0.044
F1,4
P
0.84
W or
S
[O2]
–1
mg·l
pH
TA
meq·l–1
[CO2]
mM
G
μS·cm–1
SV
W
5.2
6.72
2.21
1.09
302
SV
S
0.1
6.28
2.22
2.99
–
HL
W
–
–
0.16
–
–
HL
S
0.08
5.93
–
–
–
VI
W
5.8
6.46
0.42
0.37
116
VI
S
0.03
5.72
0.44
1.98
–
RO
W
1.7
5.80
0.46
1.71
200
RO
S
0.8
6.12
0.69
1.23
–
B. Utricularia intermedia
NV
W
2.1
5.63
0.18
1.01
–
NV
S
0.03
5.72
0.21
0.53
–
PR
W
6.7
7.10
1.16
0.21
227
PR
S
0.08
6.38
1.57
1.57
–
SJ
W
4.3
6.09
0.65
1.22
127
SJ
S
0.2
6.02
0.80
1.91
–
Mean
W
4.3
6.30
0.75
0.94
194
1SE
W
0.8
0.23
0.27
0.23
34
Range
W 1.7–7.2 5.63–7.13 0.16–2.21 0.19–1.71 116–302
Mean
S
0.19
6.04
0.99
1.75
–
1SE
S
0.10
0.11
0.31
0.30
–
Range
S 0.0–0.8 5.60–6.41 0.21–2.22 0.53–3.86
–
Stat. sign.
**
NS
NS
NS
–
A. Utricularia stygia
Site
49
49
42
–
38
1314
0.0
0.0
68
213
121
194
37
42
51
14
0–121
302
205
0–1314
NS
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
0.0
1.0
2.9
2.9
0.0–20
3.9
3.6
0.0–22
NS
NH4–N
0.0
0.0
0.0
–
0.0
0.0
20
22
NO3–N
672
336
–
–
778
913
1381
1668
Nt
44
48
–
–
50
41
49
48
Pt
21
–
–
73
764
44
21
839
47
61
868
46
18
691
47
21
578
57
28
872
47
5
131
1
18–53 672–1381 44–50
54
855
47
12
184
2
21–96 336–1668 41–57
NS
NS
NS
18
31
53
–
26
40
38
96
PO4–P
μg·l–1
29.9
33.2
15.8
–
10.8
8.1
14.0
16.7
Ca
mg·l–1
10.5
10.4
4.6
–
2.8
1.9
4.9
5.6
Mg
10.9
12.2
11.0
–
15.5
26.9
63.9
63.9
HAT
mg·l–1
–
+34
–
+139
–
+52
–
+45
Ered
mV
2.7
5.7
1.9
24.6
–
2.8
6.2
2.0
37.5
+193
7.5
19.9
6.5
20.7
–
7.4
24.3
7.1
20.1
+130
1.5
12.7
3.9
21.0
–
1.7
14.9
4.8
40.5
+122
3.8
15.4
5.0
23.9
–
1.1
2.9
1.1
6.9
–
1.2–8.0 5.7–29.9 1.9–10.5 10.9–63.9
–
4.0
17.2
5.3
33.4
+102
1.0
4.1
1.3
7.5
22
1.7–7.5 6.2–33.2 1.9–10.4 12.2–63.9 –17–+193
NS
NS
NS
NS
–
8.0
6.8
1.2
–
2.8
2.2
3.2
3.4
K
17
–
20
–
30
–
25
2
9–40
–
–
–
–
23
–
26
–
31
–
–
–
PAR
%
Table 4. – Water chemistry of investigated dense stands of Utricularia stygia and U. intermedia at sites in Třeboň basin (see Table 1 for site names). W – water at the level of photosynthetic
shoots; S – water from 10 cm deep in loose sediment; TA – total alkalinity; G – electrical conductivity; Nt – total nitrogen; Pt – total phosphorus; HAT – sum of concentration of humic acids
and tannins; Ered – redox potential; PAR – % of incident irradiance at the level of photosynthetic shoots. Means from two adjacent microsites are usually shown for both water and sediment at
each site. Total means for all sites, SE intervals and range of measured values for water and sediment are shown at the bottom; n = 5–7. Significance of differences between the means for water and sediment (t-test) is shown: **, P < 0.01; *, P < 0.05; NS, non-significant, P > 0.05.
134
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
135
Adamec: Investment in carnivory in Utricularia
W
T
PS
S
CA
1 cm
SA
Fig. 1. – Schematic lateral view of a typical adult intact plant of Utricularia stygia or U. intermedia growing in
very shallow free water (W) with shoots penetrating the loose sediment (S). T – old turion; PS – photosynthetic
shoot; CA – carnivorous shoot with traps; SA – shoot apex.
ever, as an unknown but low number (and biomass) of traps were lost during harvesting,
both the number and biomass of traps reported were slightly underestimated (Tables 2, 3).
Except for U. stygia at Hliníř, the percentage of the total plant biomass that consisted of
traps was within the narrow range of 26–29% in both species. At Hliníř, the low percentage (18%) of trap biomass, very low number of traps per plant and short carnivorous
shoots were due to the very low water level at that site. Thus, low water level can reduce
the extent and investment in carnivory in these species.
The percentage of trap biomass in U. stygia and U. intermedia with dimorphic shoots is
comparable with that reported for other aquatic Utricularia species with homogeneous
shoots. For example, Knight & Frost (1991) found the investment in carnivory to be
38–48% in U. macrorhiza, Friday (1992) 40–60% in U. vulgaris, Richards (2001) about
25% in U. purpurea, Adamec (unpublished data) on average 34% in U. australis and
Porembski et al. (2006) 11–20% in three aquatic species with homogeneous shoots. In
U. stygia and U. intermedia, with differentiated shoots, the investment in carnivory includes the production of carnivorous shoots as well as traps. The high percentage of these
chlorophyll-free shoots, of between 40–59% of the total plant biomass (Table 2), is within
the upper range of the percentage of traps in terms of total biomass in aquatic Utricularia.
This indicates not only a high structural investment in carnivory but also high maintenance
(metabolic) costs. As recorded by Adamec (2006) for both species the DW-based respiration rate of traps was 1.9–3.0 times greater than that of leaves without traps. Thus, the total
dark respiration of carnivorous shoots could amount to 60–68% of the total respiration.
In both U. stygia and U. intermedia, the boundary between the two types of shoots is
usually distinct and is mostly, but not strictly, separated by a branch (Fig. 1). Traps occurred regularly on photosynthetic shoots not only in U. stygia (Table 3) but some traps
were also found in these shoots in U. intermedia, usually near the boundary with carnivorous shoots, as opposed to literature data (Thor 1988, Taylor 1989). As mean length of
main carnivorous shoots and trap number per plant on carnivorous shoots in both species
differed highly significantly between sites (one-way ANOVA; P = 0.0003), it is likely that
the quantitative development of these structures is under ecological regulation. However,
136
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
except for low water level (at Hliníř), no other ecological regulatory factors were identified
by this study. Theoretically, the concentration of growth limiting mineral nutrients (N, P,
K) in the water, light, [CO2], and prey availability together with [O2] (and/or Ered) in the
sediment, or sediment structure, could be the key ecological factors regulating investment
in carnivory in both species (Knight & Frost 1991, Knight 1992, Guisande et al. 2000,
2004, Richards 2001, Englund & Harms 2003, Manjarrés-Hernández et al. 2006). Maximum trap size may also reflect the fitness of plants and investment in carnivory. The maximum trap size in U. stygia was 4.5 mm but only 4.0 mm at Hliníř, while it was 5.0 mm at all
U. intermedia sites. These large traps allow both species to capture relatively large prey up
to 4 mm in size (Harms 1999). A large number of traps of both U. stygia and U. intermedia
in the field often contain brown detritus (probably precipitated humic acids and tannins)
and may partly digest these substances instead of prey to obtain nutrients.
In both species, the frequency of branching was much greater of carnivorous than
photosynthetic shoots (Table 3). Within each species, the mean values for each type of
shoot did not differ between sites (data not shown) and the variation was very low. This implies that the frequency of branching of shoots in both species is very regular and does not
depend much on habitat factors. The same phenomenon is reported in the aquatic carnivorous plant Aldrovanda vesiculosa (Adamec 1999). Although the mean frequency of
branching is species specific in U. stygia and U. intermedia it cannot be used for plant determination due to overlapping values. The usual shape and branching of adult U. stygia
and U. intermedia plants are shown in Fig. 1. Germinating turions always form
a photosynthetic shoot. In adult plants, photosynthetic shoots grow horizontally or upwards and the branches grow usually downwards as carnivorous shoots. Long carnivorous
shoots, growing deep in the sediment, form photosynthetic shoots that grow upwards into
shallow water. This may facilitate the diffusion of oxygen from photosynthetic to carnivorous shoots. Long carnivorous shoots in both species grow at an angle of about 70–75 degrees downwards to the sediment. Thus, it is possible that carnivorous shoots can penetrate
on average about 7.5–13.5 cm (upper range to 19 cm) into loose anoxic sediments (cf.
Adamec & Lev 2002).
Ecological features of the microhabitats of Utricularia stygia and U. intermedia
In this study, ecological habitat factors were studied in very dense stands of U. stygia and
U. intermedia at sites in the Třeboň basin where plant fitness was highest. Therefore, the
ecologically optimal conditions for both species were recorded rather than their ecological
amplitudes. Free water in dense stands of U. stygia and U. intermedia can be characterized
as mesotrophic (Table 4). A highly significant linear correlation was found between Nt
values (in mg·l–1) pooled for the water and sediment, and the concentrations of humic acids
and tannins (HAT; Nt = 0.016 HAT + 0.39; n = 11, r = 0.81, P < 0.01). It indicates that the
main pool of Nt consisted of organic nitrogen contained in humic acids. No significant correlation was found between Nt and Pt (n = 11, r = –0.081, P > 0.05).
A highly significant and striking difference was found between [O2] in free water and
that at a depth of 10 cm in the sediment, whereas other water chemistry factors were similar (Table 4). Thus, the free water near the water surface in dense Utricularia stands is relatively well mixed with the interstitial water 10 cm deep in the sediment. The steep gradients in [O2] and opposite gradients in [CO2] found in dense stands are caused by respira-
Adamec: Investment in carnivory in Utricularia
137
tion and decomposition of partly decomposed litter or peat. As in our previous study
(Adamec & Lev 2002), [O2] in the free water never fell below 1.7 mg·l–1 and did not limit
plant growth (Adamec 1997). Concentration of O2 in the sediment usually ranged only
from 0.03 to 0.08 mg·l–1. The usually positive values of Ered indicate there were traces of
oxygen of an order of magnitude of about 0.5% of saturation in the sediments. Though
these low values are only approximate assessments, they indicate that carnivorous shoots
in the sediment zone may have suffered from an O2 shortage. Carnivorous shoots of
U. stygia and U. intermedia contain large gas spaces, as do the closely related Genlisea
plants (Adamec 2003). If there is sufficient [O2] in the free water surrounding the
photosynthetic shoots or around the terrestrial growth, O2 can diffuse from photosynthetic
to carnivorous shoots via gas spaces (see e.g. Sand-Jensen et al. 2005). Simultaneously,
CO2 can diffuse in the opposite direction from carnivorous photosynthetic shoots as in
isoetids. However, [CO2] in the free water is usually so high that it is unlikely to limit
photosynthetic activity (Adamec 1995b).
In general, the occurrence of U. stygia and U. intermedia at sites depends very weakly
on chemical (and physical) qualities of the water. On the other hand, reduced [O2] in the
free water (mean about 60–70% of saturation), relatively high free [CO2] ( > 0.02 mM,
mean 0.17–2.3 mM) and high concentrations of humic acid + tannin (range 4–63, mean
15–24 mg·l–1) may be considered as typical of the water chemistry in
U. ochroleuca/U. stygia and U. intermedia habitats (Table 4, Melzer 1976, Adamec & Lev
2002). The species are poor competitors and sensitive to habitat eutrophication. Therefore,
marked seasonal fluctuations in the water level at U. ochroleuca/U. stygia and
U. intermedia sites and associated temporary high water level are recognized as crucial in
preventing the development of dense stands of wetland graminoids and cyperoids, which
would outcompete these species (Navrátilová & Navrátil 2005). In this respect, the mean
optimum level of PAR irradiance in U. ochroleuca/U. stygia and U. intermedia stands
should not decline below about 9% of that in the open.
Acknowledgements
The paper is dedicated to Prof. Irene Lichtscheidl of the University of Vienna, Austria, on the occasion of her anniversary and in recognition of her great achievements in studying carnivorous plants. This study was supported
partly by the long-term institutional research plan of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic no.
AV0Z60050516. Sincere thanks are due to Douglas W. Darnowski (New Albany, USA) and Tony Dixon
(Norwich) for linguistic correction. Thanks are also due to Zdeňka Hroudová, Jitka Klimešová and Eric Schlosser
for critically reading the manuscript and valuable comments. This study was sanctioned by a permit of the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Rep. no. OOP/3724/01.
Souhrn
Utricularia stygia a U. intermedia jsou vodní masožravé rostliny s výrazně dvojtvarými prýty. Investice do masožravosti jako podíl pastí a masožravých prýtů v celkové biomase rostlin a morfometrické charakteristiky obou
typů prýtů byly zjišťovány v hustých porostech těchto druhů v mělkých dystrofních vodách na nejbohatších lokalitách v Třeboňské pánvi v ČR a byly zvažovány jejich možné ekologické regulace a mezidruhové rozdíly. V těchto porostech byly měřeny ve vertikálním profilu chemické a fyzikální faktory, aby se rozlišily klíčové
mikrostanovištní faktory pro zelené fotosyntetické prýty a nezelené masožravé prýty s pastmi.
Celková sušina obou druhů v hustých porostech dosahovala 2,4–97,2 g·m–2. Podíl masožravých prýtů jako investice do masožravosti z celkové biomasy byl v rozsahu 40–59% a podíl pastí 18–29% u obou druhů. Průměrná
délka hlavních masožravých prýtů a počet pastí na rostlinu u masožravých prýtů obou druhů se vysoce statisticky
138
Preslia 79: 127–139, 2007
průkazně odlišovaly mezi lokalitami, a je tak možné uzavřít, že kvantitativní vývoj těchto masožravých orgánů
jako investice do masožravosti je ekologicky regulován. Avšak z této studie nevyplývá, jaké konkrétní mikrostanovištní faktory regulují investici do masožravosti. Jako potenciální regulační faktor byla zjištěna pouze nízká
hladina vody. Ačkoliv průměrná frekvence větvení fotosyntetických prýtů se lišila statisticky průkazně u obou
druhů, tento rozdíl nemůže být využit k určování obou druhů vzhledem ke značnému překrývání hodnot.
Výrazné rozdíly byly zjištěny v koncentraci O2 mezi 1–3 cm hlubokou zónou volné vody se zelenými
fotosyntetickými prýty a 10 cm hlubokým řídkým sedimentem s nezelenými masožravými prýty s pastmi (rozsah
1,7–7,2 vs. 0,0–0,8 mg·l–1). Ze všech sledovaných faktorů chemismu vody byl zjištěn statisticky průkazný rozdíl
mezi těmito dvěma zónami pouze v [O2]. Přesto se převážná většina pastí u obou druhů vyskytuje na masožravých
prýtech rostoucích v anoxii. Vody mohou být charakterizovány jako mezotrofní.
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Received 26 May 2006
Revision received 23 November 2006
Accepted 16 January 2007